Im walking around a house that I’m buying and I am super excited in my dream to be in this new vast and large country house. I have three bedrooms so I feel that I can ask my children to come back and live with me and then I begin to get anxiety and something feels wrong with the house. I look onto the floor and there is carpeting with bright flowers and I like this a lot but I do not like the rest of the decor and I tell myself in my dream that the house is wrong and will never feel right and the house begins to deteriorate a little bit as Im standing in it. A loved one shows up and she looks disheveled and I tell her she can’t come home unless her life is in order, and I begin to look around and see that there are three kittens in the house, I catch one and that cat begins to grow a long main like a lion and I realize the cat is a girl and I decide that she looks very strange as a cat but I am going to love her anyway. I awaken.
This is a recent dream of mine. I would consider this dream in the anxiety realm because I felt fearful in the dream and that I didn’t want to be there. Dreams communicate to us in very strange ways, but there are always a phenomenon of clues, and strangeness, sometimes whimsy, sometimes pure battle. I have practiced dream interpretation for many years. I have a dream journal beside my bed and many books on this subject. I find it quite fascinating. I believe that any one of us can practice dream journaling and interpretations and getting more and more answers to our lives using this intriguing puzzle.
In Ayurveda, and the dosha system, we study three types of dreams. Whimsical, silly dreams that seem a little charming, that may or may not be based around anxiety, or confusion, dizziness and flying. These dreams are manifested from Vata dosha or air and ether. Vata dosha dreams usually come from a place of either anxiety, or whimsy and creativity. Vata dreams can also run into the lucid realm where you find yourself able to control or direct your own dreams. Flying dreams are Vata in nature.
Pitta dreams stem from the energy of fire, so many times they can be quite intense and atmospheric of warring, battle, and rageful. Many times even violence will occur in a Pitta invoked dream. Pitta dreams can mentally challenging by nature and seem to intensely run steady from beginning to end with a feeling of powerful trials and tribulations throughout.
Kapha dreams are based in the realm of earth and they are sweet, romantic, and many times filled with comfort. Fireplaces and snowy landscapes. Very safe and loving to experience. Happy atmosphere of happy people and pretty surroundings. These are the kinds of dreams that we don’t like to wake up from.
If our spirit is an energetic field of love and awareness, wordless and always watching, then how does spirit communicate? No words, judgements, hesitations, opposition, separation, just love. I feel deeply that there are two ways that spirit speaks. One is through meditation, as the watcher, with the power of our full and awake awareness and attention. The second is in the dream realms. REM is most powerful during 2 am to 6 am. These are the hours of dreams.
There are many ways to awaken your dreams. I have a lot of clients tell me that they do not dream at all. I give them a few ways to awaken their channels and every time that they make these practices a part of their evening routine, it works. Yes, I said every single time. Most of us do not realize the power that we have by just setting intentions and asking, but this is where our manifestation begins in our lives. Is through setting intentions and asking in faith for things. If we want answers, dreams are an adventurous and fun way to get them.
Five ways to bring more abundance into your life through your dreams:
1 Set Intentions. Ask and you shall recieve. If we set an intention that we want to begin to open up more into the world of dreams, we will receive more dreams. This is the way that this works. There are many ways to set the intentions. Rituals in the evening during prayer or meditation time can help. Tell yourself you are ready to dream. In many modern science books, energy centers are being talked about. This is also known as the Chakra System. The Pineal Gland is responsible for secreting the hormones of melatonin for sleep and for also that it can produce DMT, which is a biological explanation for dreams. So focus on this area of the forehead before falling asleep. You may even feel the presence of the pineal gland. Sometimes when I’m meditating on the pineal gland I can actually feel it, very strongly resonating behind the front of my forehead.
2. Dream Journaling. This is a very important part of the process of encouraging your dreams to become alive and more realistic in your practice. The more that you awaken and write down your dreams as they happen the more that this practice will encourage your dreams to become more real. There are many outlets and books out there that will interpret your dreams. I have a small collection of dream books that I have built over the years. Get the books that speak to you. But even with my book collection, I find that the internet is my go to place for dream interpretation these days. I like www.dreammoods.com.
3. Practice Yoga Nidra. Yoga Nidra is an excellent way to awaken your 6th Chakra or Third Eye Energy Center. Yoga Nidra is a guided 30 to 40 minute meditation that allows our parasympathetic to come forth. You can actually feel yourself go in and out of REM. Yoga Nidra was an essential practice in treating my insomnia that I have had since childhood. I listen to Michael Sealey almost every single night. He puts me to sleep with his guided meditations. Just remember Yoga Nidra is a little different than sleep meditations. They should be done during the day, especially around 2 to 6 pm in Vata Time. This way they can stimulate your sleep channels in the body and begin to allow your body to work into the practices of sleeping more restful and more deeply at night. Five Years ago I began a Friday Night Nidra in my home, and it became extraordinarily popular over night. People told me that their insomnia was being cured and that they felt less anxiety. It is a gorgeous practice for anyone that needs more grounding.
4. Lucid Dreaming Practices. Lucid Dreaming during the day is another way that we can get answers to our questions, while being wide awake and entering and playing in the dream world. This is something that should also be practiced in a peaceful and quiet environment. Document your experiences for better understanding. Lucid dreams are interactive and adventurous. If you feel fearful or panicky in them you can learn to control them by speaking your power. Remember that you are in charge in these dreams. These dreams can intentionally lead to flying or leaping or going to whimsical and magical places and making friends. When I do Lucid Dream Practices intentionally from time to time I find that I get very good at being able to control outcomes and to get answers to questions. Read a good book online about lucid dreaming and do your research before entering these realms. Lucid Dreaming can and will lead to Astral Projection with time and effort, so if you are fearful about this practice, do avoid it until you feel more prepared.
5. Stay Close to the Ayurvedic Time Clock. We need to be asleep as close to 10 pm as possible. This is because from 10 to 2 am, our bodies are healing. Digestive fires are high and we need to have a quiet and rested mind so that our bodies can rest and digest. This is where healing takes place. When we are asleep deeply during these hours, REM works optimally from the hours of 2 to 6am, and these are the hours of dreams encouraging our creativity and manifestation! If we want Vata time to work in our favor, staying on a good steady time clock is so powerful to create a beautiful life. This is why if we notice between 10pm and 2 am, we can feel the heat, acidy burn of our digestive fires doing work, and during 2am to 6 pm, we can feel more air moving. 10pm to 2am is Pitta dosha and 2 to 6 is Vata dosha working. My favorite time clock book is Change Your Schedule, Change Your Life by Dr. Suhas Kshirsagar. This book was life changing for me.
Inside all of us there is a guiding light. Spend time making yours even brighter! Dream on, my fellow adventurous dream warriors!